


hate to say i told you so

by glundergun (cleardishwashers)



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:02:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22381540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleardishwashers/pseuds/glundergun
Summary: dennis gets sick and mac is a Concerned Boyfriend!happy birthday laura ily!!
Relationships: Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	hate to say i told you so

“You’re an idiot. Go away,” Dennis says, pushing at Mac’s face— well, not  _ gently, _ but something close to it. Partly because he doesn’t have the strength to push any harder, partly because he likes to skim his fingertips over Mac’s cheek. “Mac. You’re going to get sick.”

“Just— eat the goddamn soup, man!” Mac says, holding a spoonful of broth out. He’s sitting cross-legged next to Dennis with a tray of chicken noodle soup balanced between his knees. He’s probably touched his face, like, sixteen times already. He is most definitely going to get sick.

“You are  _ most definitely _ going to get sick,” Dennis tells him. God, his throat hurts like a bitch. Soup would be so nice right now. Except if he gives in then Mac is going to take it as an invitation to stay here, and then Mac will get sick because he has no sense of self-preservation. “And I’m not hungry.” Mac gives him a Look. Dennis Looks right back, because “two can play at that game, motherfucker.”

“What game?” Mac says, half-exasperatedly, half-fondly. “I just want you to eat the soup.”

“I’m really not hungry—”

“Just the broth, then.”

“Jesus Christ. Leave the soup on the table and go wash your hands, and I’ll eat it by myself.” Mac looks skeptical. “Oh, Jesus, what am I going to do, man? Go throw it all down the sink? I can barely even get out of bed.” All this talking is tiring him out. Maybe he should just take the fucking soup.

“Last time I left you alone you passed out because of your fever,” Mac says, an undercurrent of worry in his voice. “I had to take you to the  _ hospital, _ Den.”

It takes all his effort to not shift uncomfortably— he’s never really been good at receiving genuine concern, and  _ genuine concern _ is practically the only thing Mac has been capable of vocalizing the past week. It wasn’t even that bad— yeah, he had to go to the hospital (he really should’ve remembered the toll a high fever takes on the body over five days— maybe they could’ve avoided this whole mess then—), but he was discharged just twenty-four hours later. “Seriously. You’re exaggerating. And you’re also going to get  _ sick _ if you hang around me for much longer, Mac—”

“You  _ promise _ that if I go wash my hands that you’ll eat the soup?”

“Yeah, yeah, promise. Christ.” Mac shoots him a look that’s more half-hearted than reproving, because even though the fanaticism has faded he’s always been religious and Dennis doesn’t think he’s gonna stop now. But he doesn’t say anything about the blasphemy hat trick, and that’s when Dennis thinks that  _ hey, Mac might actually be taking this too seriously. _ “Babe, I’m fine.”

“You know that thing that people say—”

“You could just say  _ you know that saying, _ but okay—”

“Shut up. Like, ‘paler than a sheet’ or whatever? You’re literally paler than our sheets.” Mac leans over, pressing his hand to Dennis’s forehead. “You’ve still got a fever, dude.”

“Do you want to  _ catch _ this fever?” Dennis asks. This is really getting ridiculous. “No? Then  _ go wash your damn hands.” _

“Fine! Fine, I’m going!” Mac says, throwing his hands up in surrender before moving the soup to the bedside table. “Eat the soup.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m serious, Den.”

“So am I, babe. Go. Sanitize.”

“Don’t fucking… pass out again.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The corner of Mac’s mouth quirks up (and even after all these years, Dennis still feels that little glow of  _ hey, I put that there). _ “Love you.”

“Yeah, you too, idiot.”

(Mac ends up getting the virus three days later. Dennis negotiates the right to say  _ I told you so _ seven times a day until Mac gets better.)


End file.
